Underworld Rising
by TheManarchy
Summary: Three mercenaries travel alongside one another, killing for coin and going only where the money flows. This seems like just another day on the job, but turns out to be something more.
1. Another Day in Paradise

A/N: This is my first fan fiction, but i've been told i'm a relatively good writer, and after helping a couple friends with their fanfics as well as years of playing this game i thought to myself "Eh, why not?" Without further ado here it is, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Another Day in Paradise

I lay there, on the less than comfortable ground, staring up at the starry night sky. I could hear the fire crackling next to me, accompanied only by Ignos's snoring, Shaladur's blade sharpening, and the occasional cricket chirping away whistlessy.

I was tired, no doubt about that, it was a good raid today. But like usual I wouldn't sleep for a while. Especially with what was about to happen.

Before that, though, I suppose I should introduce myself, as well as my partners.

My name is Cheven, and I'm a mercenary. Me and my two friends are a group of wandering mercenaries, travelling for coin and killing for coin.

We're a well rounded bunch, first there's me, I lead the pack. I'm lean, average height at around 5' 6" with a light tan colored skin. I have long, dark brown hair, wound in a ponytail above my head. I wear tight, brown leather armor, allowing me mobility and decent protection. It consisted of long boots that came up to my knees, tight leather pants, a tight leather tunic with a sash slong it which held my throwing daggers and poisons, and gloves which had throwing knives conveniently placed on them, concealed, but ready to kill.

I wielded twin daggers. Both had blades a good 8 inches long. They were sharp enough the cut flesh like red butter. I also practiced in throwing knives, which i always carried several of. I'm not very physically strong, that's Shaladur's job, but I could win a brawl or six. I'm a rogue, wearing leather armor and an identity-veiling scarf around my mouth, trusting only the daggers in my hands and the coins in my pocket.

This life came naturally to me, I've always been a thief. If I wasn't a good thief by now I'd be a good casualty for one of the many thugs I've met in my journeys. I either sneak up behind my target and slit their throat before they realize i'm there or run across the battle field, slicing, dicing, and stabbing as I please; It depends on my mood.

Next, there was Ignos, a small lad. He seemed fairly innocent, and even to this day I've no idea how he managed to become a mercenary. Ignos is short at 5' 3" with skin pale enough to make snow jealous, and a body scrawny enough to make a skeleton cry.

Ignos wore a red robe, with a fire design around the rim above his feet and above his hands. He also had a hood to match, with fire around the rim of it.

His weapon of choice was a long red staff. The end of it was carved into the shape of a dragonskull. You could see the power in it.

His gleaming blonde hair was long and hung past his shoulders elegantly. His eyes were a magnificent bright blue color, and his young face always showed intelligence. You probably think he's the whimpiest human alive, which to be fair, he is. Physically, he is. Mentally he could outsmart you 10 times before you realized you were on fire with your entrails hanging out, all while he was enjoying a nice book. This was especially impressive when one considered his age. He was about 17, and yet he could say things the Shal and I wouldn't come close to comprehending.

His eyes shone with intelligence, and he was the most loyal of all of us. Loyalty aside, he could be dangerous as well, due to his obsession and inquisitive nature with fire magic. In the end, he would gladly put his life down for his friends.

Finally, there's Shaladur. If I had to describe him in one word it would either be menacing or insane. He stood at 6' tall, with bulging muscles, and scars all along his body.

He wore a brown cloth, patterned with what he said were roses, along his forehead and over his right eye, a small scar stretched out from under the brown rose patterned cloth, barely visible. He wore dark blue-green pants and boots. Covering his legs were two layers of cloth. One, red cloth that hung past his knees, on the inner part of his armor. The second was the same dark blue-green as before; this cloth was slightly longer than the red, and was daped down to his shins. He wore matching gloves, with little to no metal on them. He had no shirt, both showing his unafraid, berserk nature and his muscled chest, which was covered in scars and ink.

His weapons? In total he carried six. He had three katanas, all of which he named, hung from the left side of his belt; Two small curved blades hung down from the back of his belt; And one short sword which hung from the sash holding his belt and pants up.

His eyes had a crazy, wild look to them, with the fires of war constantly being stoked in his disturbed mind. He had dark tan skin, much like my own, with tattoos along his body to match his scars. Needless to say, neither he nor life had been kind to his body.

His place in the group? Crazy barbaric madman. Shal is a berserker. He can be kind and gentle, but set him off and you can wave goodbye to the land of the living because he won't rest until you're a puddle. He would sprint through the battlefield, hacking and cleaving through any living thing in his way. I'm not exaggerating, he once killed a farmer's cow for no reason. We ate well that night.

We all have our own reasons for becoming mercenaries. I did it because I've always lived hand to mouth, growing up in a poor, little orphanage in a poor, little town. I became fed up with being a peasant. I left one day, trained myself in the art of pickpocketing, and using knives as my weapons of choice,and began my lucrative journey into the world of mercenary work.

Ignos was my polar opposite. He grew up in a rich family, reading books and always getting fed a nice warm dinner each night before going to sleep in a warm cozy bed with blankets on it. He was different than his friends though. Although most of them were aspiring magi at the university, Ignos was fascinated by one thing, Fire. He grew up loving fire magic, both it's life and death giving propertires. He was intelligent, but could also be a bit too inquisitive and was reckless because of it, which caused him to be expelled after a certain incident involving a burnt down library and a small cackling arsonist. So, he set off, using his "talents" to both get paid and to learn ways to effectively burn things. Win, win as far as he was concerned.

Shaladur grew up in a harsh land and lived a harsh life. He grew up poor like me. Unlike me though, he could wield a blade by the age of 6. He grew up in a family of raiders and mercenaries in the sandsea, a brutal desert, with few resources in it aside from sand and the occasional cactus. He grew up eating little and murdering people, and it stuck with him. He decided he would venture out of the sandsea to new lands, for riches and for glory.

Back to the present. Today seemed like just another standard raid. Go in, kill, loot, set up camp a short distance away in a forest somewhere, sleep, and start over again the next day. This raid was unique however.

First of all, we were contacted anonymously by someone who went by "N" to raid an encampment in the Greenguard forest. This was odd, we were never contacted anonymously, but we went for it because of the hefty sum of gold we'd be rewarded.

Second, when we got there, we expected bandits. There was a relatively large camp bustling with undead soldiers. They wore black armor, decorated with skulls. Their eyes glowed in a haunting blue color.

I suggested we approach cautiously, so Shaladur charged in screaming and all but frothing at the mouth. Ignos blasted away several undead with his fireballs, and I approached cautiously. The only words I heard from the undead were "For Dage!" or "The sons shall fall!" I had no idea what either of these meant. If I did we'd all be okay right now, but like the rest of my life, this too would end in disaster.

A/N: hope you enjoyed, I realize this was all exposition, but stay tuned! From here on in it get's juicy, I swear.


	2. Goodbye, Old Friend

A/N: Let me know what you think a review is GREATLY appreciated. I've been told it's alright so far but I'm a perfectionist, so please do let me know any complaints you may have. I can handle it ;)

Chapter 2: Goodbye, Old Friend

The others were asleep, my eyes were shut tighter than a noose, and yet sleep wouldn't find me. I guess that's a side effect of becoming a murderer. By now the fire was only a pile of ash and a few desperate and persistent coals. I swore I heard whispers in the distance.. I couldn't make out the words, just the hushed tone of secrecy.

I stood up alertedly and glanced around cautiously. Were there more of them? No, there was nothing in the darkness, only trees and their fallen leaves and twigs; perhaps an animal or two somewhere.

Whoosh!

A horrible stinging pain emanated from my right shoulder. I reached at it instinctually and felt the warm crimson pooring from my wound. I shouted in both pain and alarm. Shal leaped from his makeshift bed and drew his favorite katana, Hellscream. Ignos got up alertedly and readied his spells, a fireball hovering above his palms. I tore the arrow from my shoulder and screamed "Who are you!" We glanced around "Come out coward!" Shal Demanded.

There was a cackle in the distance. Was it the distance? It seemed so far away yet... It was almost as if it were in my head, as if there was someone standing right in front of me. "You've no right to demand anything from me, Shaladur," Shal, for once, had a look of despair on his face. He was no longer the fearless man I'd seen before. "I give you power beyond imagination and first you abandon your master and now you attack my minions," Ignos and I were both puzzled. Power beyond imagination? A master? "What haven't you told us shal?" Skeletons, exactly like the ones we slaughtered earlier emerged, dozens of them, then hundreds.

"Go," Shaladur said calmy. He had a look of despair on his face, but also one of determination, of redemption. A wicked, almost entertained laughter erupted through the forest. "You seek to save them?" The voice said, humorously. Shaladur looked at me and Ignos with a sad look, a look you gave to a friend when you knew it was the last you would see of them. He said "Go," He said once more. He turned slowly and shouted in a berserk bloodthirsty howl of absolute rage "I WILL CRUSH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR MINIONS DAGE! I WILL GRIND EVERY SINGLE BONE INTO DUST BEFORE MY BLADE TASTES YOUR UNDYING FLESH!"

"HAHAHAH," The voice laughed uncontrollably. "Kill them," The skeletons leaped in at us to attack, we were swarmed in seconds. "GO, NOW!" Shal shouted, this was the last I would hear of him. Me and Ignos obeyed his final wish.

We ran through the undead, slaying as many as possible, but it wouldn't be enough.

We reached a hilltop, I saw Shal cutting down undead almost effortlessly. Hellscream gleamed as it danced around, breaking bones like twigs.

Arrows flew in from behind him and punctured his back. Already injured, skeletons began beating him as well. Blades cut his flesh, maces battered him brutally and mercilessly. He fell to his knees, bloodied and beaten. Blood oozed from the crator where his nose was, before it was bashed in by a mace. He struggled to even lift his arms, he was still trying to fight. Arrows sprouted from his thick flesh.

A dark figure, glowing with power approached my friend from the darkness.

I could see him fully well, by now the sun was beginning to rise. The entirety of his armor was black. His helm was open, yet only a blue glow came from within. His chestplate was thick and was designed as a gaping skull. Massive skulls with jutting horns were perched on his shoulders. A greatsword was sheathed on his back. Along it's blade were carved what looked like the faces of condemned spirits, always screaming in anguish. A powerful light blue aura surrounded him. Dage was like nothing I'd ever seen... or heard of before.

He was not among the living.

"Tsk, tsk" He uttered, wagging a finger. " Dage picked up Shaladur's blade. "We meet once again Hellscream," Dage said eyeing the long katana. He raised it high above his head, It shone in the newly risen sun, and brought it down swiftly onto my friend.

He fell quickly to the earth with a thud. His head tumbled away in the dust. "NO!" Ignos screamed, trembling and in tears. He blasted a massive fireball into the distance, the force of which knocked many undead into pieces, and even knocked a tree down, before incinorating a fraction of the forest. "We have to go," I said, shocked at the event.

Ignos and I ran for what seemed like hours. We made it to the small town of Willowshire. It was a quaint little place, a miniscule farming village in the Greenguard province of King Alteon's sprawling kingdom. We went into the Inn and sat down. Ignos was still trembling, he'd finished crying before we made it to the town. Shaladur was dead. I didn't care what he did to that bastard, but I would avenge my friend. Shaladur's sacrifice would not be in vein, Dage would die.

A/N: Stay tuned! More coming up soon!


	3. Vengeance, Shaken not Stirred

..A/N: Another hour well spent! I hope you enjoy! By the way, I plan on releasing two a week, since they aren't horribly long, so stay tuned!

Chapter 3: Vengeance, Shaken not Stirred

I could barely believe that Shal was gone. We'd travelled together so long now, he was like a crazy, frothing brother to me. It was hard dealing with the loss of your brethren, crazy and frothing or deals with grief, in their own way. People like Ignos cry, for example. I, on the other hand, drink. If liquid can't come out of my face, I'll pour it down my damn throat. That was half of the reason why we came to the inn. The other was because innkeepers, knew everything. I hoped he knew who this Dage was, because neither I or nor Ignos did. I sat and I drank until even the ugliest hag looked beautiful, Ignos wouldn't dream of drinking.

When Phairre, the Innkeep came by for the eighth time I shouted "Ay, Phairre! I.. hic... Gotsh a queshin for ya!" He walked over patiently. He was kind old man, just over 60. He spent the last of his days in a quiet little settlement. His face showed kindness and understanding. "Yes?" he replied. "Th' Hell'sh Dage! I'ma kill em!" Phairre looked at me, stunned. I couldn't tell if it was my drunkenness or my question. "Dage The Evil! He's the ruler of the Undead Legion! He leads millions of undead soldiers with an iron fist! Why in the name of the maker would you pick a fight with him!"

"He's a murderin' summa bish!" I shouted. Others were starting to glance over and, in hindsight,I don't blame them. Ignos made up for my idiocy by saying "He killed someone..." He was getting choked up. "..Someone close to us," Phairre looked at the boy thoughtfully.

"I see, why?"

"We've got no idea, He said he gave him power but... I don't understand.."

"Power? By the maker now I know why!"

"Why then!" Ignos demanded. "Why would he kill Shaladur!"

"I've heard tales of men who sell their souls to Dage for power beyond your wildest dreams, this must've been what happened to your friend, except your friend tried to abandon Dage, and so he payed the price,"

"I'm still gunna make em eat shteel," I proclaimed. If you can't tell the strength my alcohol tolerance envies oxen.

It was about this time that the screams came from outside, accompanied by a massive explosion.

We quickly ran outside. A Howl of pure concentrated rage echoed throughout the town. "I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE!" Fire rained from the sky, which had turned a blood red color. Buildings burned and crumbled. Creatures began to rise from the ground, though these were nothing like Dage's minions.

These were small, horrible little things. They were black and had fangs the size of half their bodies. Others joined them, Short green ghoulish figures with claws that envied the others fangs. Other terrible things erupted from the ground attacking anything they saw.

Men ran from their homes to combat the evil. Some had weapons, others used pitchforks. I drew my dagger and leaped into the fray. Hundreds of the little buggers littered the area and I slashed each of them to ribbons. Ignos wasn't helping to control the fire, but he was damn good at pest control.

Many of them were dead, and human casualties weren't fantastically low either. Corpses were scattered about, I even saw Phairre lying among them, his kind face with his eyes and mouth stuck open in horror and dread. Many were charred, other torn to bits, some were even a combination of the two. More minions erupted from the ground, thousands. The town was quickly overrun. We fought bravely, but I knew that my life would end here.

The minions stopped attacking. A hulking figure walked through them. He easily stood over 9 feet tall. He wore black armor decorated with glowing skulls. You could only see his stomach, biceps, and face. He wasnt human. His face was large, with six glowing red eyes. His teeth were huge, and were gritted together, in anger. He lacked hair, and instead had Two horns jutting from sides of his head. He looked both of us over.

For a split second I saw an emotion on his face, it was a forlorn look. He remembered something, but what?

The beast grimaced, then spoke to us in a booming echo.

"You, I do not seek to kill you," He looked around at the corpses of many of his servants, courtesy of yours truly. "No, you are too powerful to kill," He grinned. "I only wish to kill, Dage..." He now frowned and his eyes grew narrow. "As do we," I said, now mostly sober. "Then join me and we shall destroy that coward once and for all," Ignos and I were ready to accept, but there was one more thing. "Who are you? Why did you attack this place?" He grinned wickedly,

"Heh, I am Nulgath, keeper of the Underworld. I need land to operate in above ground, and souls to devour," I didn't like him, but we'd have to deal with that later, all I cared for was vengeance. I didn't get it at the time but Ignos said faintly "Wait... Nulgath..."

"N"


	4. Sweet Dreams

Chapter 4: Sweet Dreams

As we travelled with Nulgath, he began to tell us more about why he wanted Dage's head on a pike.

Dage had been plotting to take over the underworld, to kill Nulgath and take control of both his army and Nulgaths, he would be unstoppable. Nulgath had prepared his defenses, but the final straw had been broken when Dage killed Nulgath's oldest son, in the land of the living. He'd just caught wind of it, so he decided to "recruit" that village as his base of operations. Why there though? It was such a miniscule place. Something didn't add up.

We marched alongside the massive army of Nulgath. He planned on taking the fight straight to Shadowfall, The land in which Dage operated. Shadowfall is home to the Shadowscythe Empire. It is a massive empire of the undead, living, and all around evil beings. Both Dage and Nulgath control sub-armies in the name of the shadowscythe, for now.

Both Dage the Evil and Nulgath had planned on overthrowing the empress, but first differences had to be settled between the two of them. Whilst the Shadowscythe empress concentrated on a campaign against other armies opposing the Shadowscythe, Nulgath decided this would be the perfect time for vengeance. Nulgath and Dage would have nobody to stop them from fighting, only one of them would walk out of this war alive.

We reached shadowfall. The ground was a dark, sooty gray. The sky was a dark ash-colored gray. The ground was uneven, and there were few plants, most of which were dead. We saw a large castle in the distance.

The castle was surrounded by large hills, almost as if it were in a crator. It was huge, there were long, stretching walls in a lopsided circular shape. The walls were a dark gray, worn by the years. They were thick and battleworn. Inside was the skeleton of a gargantuan dragon, the size of a wyrm. The city was built off of the bones of the dragon. The upper district was built onto it's wings. The middle underneath, and thhe peasants lived outside of the walls. The main keep was built out of the beasts mouth. The market district was in it's ribs. Some buildings hung off of the wings, which were outstretched upwards, diagonally up to the sky.

The place was an extraordinary sight. War would ravage this place, this would be no different.

"This is Shadowfall Kingdom, Dage has his base set here," Nulgath informed us. "So, We set up here," He eyed his troops, left to right. "Alright, you maggots, half set up camps behind this hill," He pointed to a large hill, close to the castle, but if we set up behind the hill, Dage wouldn't see us coming. "The other half, this one," He pointed to a slightly larger one, opposite the first.

"We attack at dawn!" His men cheered and raised their claws and blades to the sky.

Me and Ignos slept in one of the many camps scattered along the hill. We didn't want to attract any attention so we slept with only the warmth of our blankets whilst we lay on the cold, harsh ground. Ignos couldn't sleep, I didn't blame him. The castle just over the hill we lay on, it was massive. How many innocent people lived there? There were small buildings scattered around, these were the Shadowfall equivalent to peasants. I knew Nulgath wouldn't spare anyone, just because they were in the way of his vengeance. He could sleep soundly at night, fully knowing how many souls he's damned. Bastard.

Evil and corrupt he may be, but we had to help him, I knew this. Regardless of Nulgaths horrible, twisted nature, he was extremely powerful. If an extremely powerful being asks you to join him in killing both his arch enemy and yours, would you deny him. Especially considering how he'd slaughtered a whole village seconds before. He wouldn't have a problem with two more. We would kill Dage, and worry about the rest when it happened. I stared up at the bleak, starless sky. Soon, sleep found it's way to me.

My dream was surreal, I hardly understood what was happening, it was all so fast. First, I saw three yound children, playing like usual. Something was wrong though, they weren't on grass, The ground was stone, they stood on an outcropping into a massive chasm. Above them was the roof of a gaping cave. I then saw six red eyes in nothing but darkness. I heard a deep voice growl "Leave, my children"

I saw Nulgath and Dage talking. They looked nothing like themselves, but somehow I knew it was them. Nulgath was a short man, about my height, with leather armorr and a hood. Two sinister red eyes glowed from beneath the hood. Dage, was taller, but there was something else. You could see skin through his helmet, a face. His armor was silver, and lacked the skulls I had seen before. Dage signed a paper, and Nulgath smiled.

The scene changed once more. I saw Dage kill Shal again, but this time one of the boys stood behind dage as he did it. The boy was transparent, he was angry.

I then saw a woman, short, and red haired. She was skinny, and quite beautiful. I saw her with Nulgath. I supposed she was in a relationship with him. I saw her draw a knife quickly and stab Nulgath in the back as he wasn't looking. Nulgath fell quickly, and quietly. I saw all of the souls he'd devoured float off, free from their living cage. The woman smiled devilishly. She couldn't have been more pleased with herself.

Ignos woke me up after that. It was morning, and the troops were preparing for their attack. Our side would begin to flank the kingdom. When their defenses were focused on our side, the others would come from the other hill and flank them. I peeked over the hillside at the enemy. I could see guards patrolling the dark, fortified walls. I could see farmers tending their crops, a strange red plant growing out of the gray soil.

We would attack in an hour. Ignos and I sat whilst we talked over what we assumed to be our final meal. We'd never been in a war before, there were millions of soldiers on either side! We've fought about two dozen bandits before, but that didn't come close. I told Ignos of my dream, of the boys, the eyes, Nulgath and Dage, The woman who killed Nulgath. After I told him that, he stared at me, wide eyed.

"I dreamt too...I...I don't remember much of it.. it's all blurry... but I remember one thing,"

His eyes were locked on to me, worried, desperate, trying. The look frightened me. Someone his age didn't need this life. He didn't have to die like this! Why did he choose this path?

"I saw Shal... No... I WAS Shal," He began shaking slightly "I could see through his eyes.. I came here, to Shadowfall, I came for Dage," He was having a hard time remembering, I could see by the way his eyes now shot about aimlessly. "I remember making a deal with him, and then I felt power... So.. So much power..." He struggle more, but it was no use. "I can't remember anything else," He regretfully informed me.

Now it was only a half an hour until Dage would be killed. Then, we would have answers.

A/N: What do the dreams mean? who's that woman? will dage die or will nulgath fail? Find out next chapter of Underworld Rising! :O


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